Box Score BOX SCORE
RAPID REACTION WITH HEAD COACH STAN SPIROU
When and Where: January 10, 2016 – Manchester, N.H. (SNHU Fieldhouse)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 82, American International College 64
Records: SNHU 10-5 (6-3 Northeast-10), AIC 6-8 (2-6 Northeast-10)
Junior Chris Walters (Stamford, Conn.) and senior BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) combined for 55 points to lead the Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team to an 82-64 victory against defending Northeast-10 Champion American International College on Sunday afternoon at the SNHU Fieldhouse.
Walters poured in a career-high 31 points (11-18 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 8-12 FT) and ripped down 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, while adding four blocks, three assists and two steals. Cardarelli netted a season-high 24 points (6-15 FG, 4-9 3-FG, 8-8 FT) to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Senior Rodney Sanders (Elizabeth, N.J.) also reached double figures with 10 points (4-11 FG, 2-4 3-FG) and three helpers.
Cameron Dobbs, Nolan Woodward and Juwan Moody each scored 11 points to lead the Yellow Jackets, while Trahmier Burrell added 10.
American International would jump out to a 6-2 lead in the first three minutes and eventually grabbed a half-high five point lead at 12-7 before a 6-0 spurt gave the Penmen their first lead of the game when freshman Daquaise Andrews (Queens, N.Y.) hit a long jumper to make it 13-12 with 12:32 remaining in the opening half.
That wound up being Southern New Hampshire's only lead of the frame as a Moody 3-pointer put AIC back on top. A pair of free throws from Walters forged the game's fifth tie at 35-all with 2:11 on the clock, but four straight points from Woodward gave the Yellow Jackets the lead again and they would take a 41-37 edge into the locker room.
Sparked by a dunk from Walters just 20 seconds into the second half, Southern New Hampshire ripped off a 20-4 flurry to grab hold of a 57-45 lead with 13:27 remaining in the contest. A layup from junior Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) at the 18:11 mark gave the Penmen the lead for good at 44-43.
SNHU would not let up from there as five points from Walters and three from Cardarelli ran the advantage to 69-50 with 7:45 to go. A pair of free throws from Walters nearly seven minutes later handed the Penmen their largest lead of the contest at 80-60 with 1:12 remaining.
Andrews finished with seven points (2-3 FG, 3-5 FT), five boards and two assists, with Gilligan adding six points (3-8 FG), eight rebounds and three steals.
Notes:
-The Penmen have now won six of seven.
-Southern New Hampshire narrowly outshot American Int'l, 45 percent (27-60) to 43.6 percent (24-55), including 35 percent (7-20) to 26.7 percent (4-15) from downtown. The Yellow Jackets shot 58.1 percent (18-31) in the first half before hitting just 25 percent (6-24) of their shots in the second stanza.
-SNHU was plus-nine at the line as it hit 21 of 31 (67.7%) free throws, while AIC went 12-for-17 (70.6%).
-The Penmen outrebounded the Yellow Jackets, 39-34, including 16-10 on the offensive glass for an 18-2 landslide in second chance points. SNHU also took care of the ball as it turned it over just 10 times and took advantage of 14 AIC mistakes for a 21-8 margin in points off turnovers. American Int'l narrowly won the paint (34-32).
-Sanders scored in double-digits for the 12th straight game.
Up Next:
The Penmen are back in action Thursday, Jan. 14 (7 p.m.) when they close out non-conference play against Bloomfield College. The next home game for the Penmen is Saturday, Jan. 23 (3:30 p.m.) when they play host to the University of New Haven at the Fieldhouse. Tickets can be purchased HERE or at the box office on the day of the game.
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